Chalkboards for the soul.

Ever since I was little, I have always loved lettering. I would doodle in my diary (back when the "cool ones" had a little lock and key), scrap paper, and anything that I could find. Little did I know that my love of hand lettering would come in handy years down the road.

Hand lettering works right along with chalkboard lettering except that you use chalk or chalk markers and you of course write on chalkboards! Two of my favorite brands to use are VersaChalk and CraftyCroc. The chalk in flows well and always is seamless in my designs. I love using them on all of my chalkboard projects like the ones below. A few other items that I always have on hand when working on my chalkboards are a ruler, regular chalk, a pencil sharpener with 2 holes, Q-tips (for cleaning up or fixing small areas), a hand towel (with one corner partially damp), and my creativity! Then, using my regular chalk, I always "prime" my boards first. This is where you take your regular chalk, turn it on its side, and rub the chalk on the chalkboards entire surface, sort of breaking it in before you start drawing. I then measure my boards and get a good 1/2 to 1 inch border marked on all sides. I then mark the center of the board and well as the center on each side of the chalkboard, so as to keep my designs symmetrical and straight. I then lightly draw guide lines to help map out where my words are going to go; and lightly write in my works with the chalk. Last is the fun part! I trace over my chalk writing with my chalk markers, then once the chalk is dry, I lightly wipe the board to clean off the excess chalk from my sketching, and do any touch ups needed.

And there you have it! See some of my designs for a wedding I am working on below! (You'll also see my little Sophie laying on her blanket "helping me out.")